Thanks to the rapid technological progress in the past two decades, casino players are no longer required to visit brick-and-mortar gambling venues in order to enjoy their favourite games. No matter what their game preferences are, casino enthusiasts are spoilt for choice thanks to the wealth of titles they can access without hassle on their smartphones or computers.
Roulette is no exception, as lovers of the table game may struggle to pick a variant to enjoy. This is to be expected, since software developers do their utmost to create roulette variants that outclass those of their rivals.
Furthermore, fans of this game of chance are able to place their bets from the comfort of their surroundings, as all reputable online casino operators have added authentic roulette variants to their gaming catalogues.
However, if you are new to the game, it is best to familiarise yourself not only with its rules but also with other key details that are not so obvious, such as the return on investment (ROI) in roulette and the average return to player percentage (RTP) offered by the specific variant.
Return on Investment in Roulette
With most casino games, practice makes perfect; this does not apply to roulette, however, because no matter how sound your knowledge of the game is, your chances of winning remain the same and you can rely only on luck.
Of course, to improve their performance, gambling aficionados should have a proper understanding of the different bet types, their odds of winning, and the pay-offs they can potentially collect.
Return on Investment, or ROI, is an essential component that roulette players need to consider before joining the game, as it also relates to bankroll management. Generally speaking, ROI reflects the percentage by which players have decreased or increased their overall bankroll at the end of a given period of time.
In other words, ROI represents the total amount roulette mavens have either lost or won relative to the budget they have allocated for that betting session. Therefore, this value indicates how much avid casino fans should expect to receive in return for the total amount staked.
In practice, Return on Investment helps roulette mavens assess the profit they have accumulated during their betting session and, on most occasions, its value is expressed as a percentage.
Calculating the ROI for your roulette betting session is exceptionally straightforward: you simply divide the return you have received by the total amount staked during that session. Once you have the figure, multiply it by 100 to convert it into a percentage.
For example, if you have joined the game with an initial bankroll of £200 and have succeeded in generating a net profit of £40 at the end of the betting session, this would mean your ROI is equal to 20% or the percentage by which you have increased your initial bankroll. As you can see, in this case, your ROI is positive.
These figures show that for every £1 gambling enthusiasts put on the line, the return they should expect is 20%, or just 20 pence.
On bad days, players’ Return on Investment may be negative. For example, if you start with an initial bankroll of £100 and finish with £30, your ROI will be -70%. This is how the calculation goes – (£30 – £100) / £100 = – 0.7 x 100 = – 70%. A negative ROI should serve as an indicator that you need to adjust the value of your betting units for the next betting session. Keeping track of your ROI is essential, as it will help you determine whether you should stake more or less money during your next betting session.
Roulette experts recommend that less experienced players limit their target Return on Investment to 15% or 20% of their initial bankroll.
What roulette lovers should bear in mind is that, to determine whether an ROI is good, they need to consider the time span involved. The above-mentioned percentages will diminish dramatically when gambling enthusiasts take hundreds of bets into account.
The Expected Value of Roulette Wagers
Expected value also plays a key role in gambling because it describes the average outcome of an event over a long period of time, which is why it is often referred to simply as expectation.
It should be noted that expected value is not used to indicate the exact amount avid casino fans might win or lose on a single wager.
To work out the expected value, or average expectation, casino enthusiasts need to consider the pay-offs provided by the specific wager type together with the odds of winning.
Another point to clarify is that the amount roulette lovers can expect to win or lose is expressed as a percentage and, as already mentioned, relates to the amount wagered over the chosen timeframe.
One more thing worth mentioning is that by a prolonged period of time we mean that thousands of spins of the roulette wheel need to take place. The greater the number of trials, the more accurately the expected value can be predicted.
As roulette mavens might expect, theoretical predictions cannot be flawless, for the actual results often deviate from what was initially anticipated.
You are probably aware that, depending on the roulette variant you choose to enjoy, the house edge will be either 2.7% or 5.26%. In some cases, the house advantage drops to 1.36%, but this is possible only when the En Prison or La Partage rule applies.
We should not forget to mention that the least favourable wager roulette players can make is the Basket bet. Available exclusively in American-style roulette, it should be avoided as it gives the house an edge of 7.9%.
As you may know, the house advantage in all casino games, including roulette, is equal in size to the expected value. The only difference is that the expected value carries a negative sign.
To estimate the expected value of the different types of bets that can be placed in roulette, players need to take into account their chances of winning and losing, the amount they are about to stake, and their potential profit.
The equation is as follows: (probability to win x profit) – (probability to lose x staked amount) / staked amount. As you can see, whether you are daring in terms of your stakes or rather risk-averse, the expected value will invariably be a fraction of your wager.
For the sake of simplicity, we will assume that the amount you wish to stake is just one betting unit. In this case, players can estimate the expected value using the following formula: probability to win x profit – probability to lose.
Now let’s provide an example to make things clearer. As you may know, Dozen bets in roulette cover 12 numbers, which means that the probability of winning is 12/37 in European-style roulette. The probability of losing is 25/37, simply because there are 25 numbers whose appearance will cause you to lose the stake.
Thus, the expected value of Dozen bets in roulette is calculated as follows: (12/37) x 2 – (25/37). This yields -2.70%, which means that if gambling aficionados spend more time at the roulette table and consistently opt for Dozen bets, they should be prepared to part with about 2.70% of the money they wager.
Return to Player Percentage in Roulette
The term Return to Player, or RTP, is used to describe the game’s theoretical payout percentage, or how much of the money you wager will be paid back over time. For instance, if a given game has an RTP of 95%, players can expect to receive £95 back in winnings out of every £100 staked. The higher the RTP, the longer your bankroll should last – at least in theory.
To work out the RTP of the roulette variant they are about to play, gambling enthusiasts need to deduct the house edge from 100%. Still, players should bear in mind that RTP can be calculated in this way only when betting strategies do little to reduce the house edge. This is precisely the case with games such as roulette, war, and craps.
If we presume that you consistently place £1 Straight bets on the number 5 and the chosen roulette variant follows American rules, the house edge will stand at 5.26%, while the RTP of the game will be roughly 94.74%. If you decide to place a total of 1,000,000 such wagers, this means that, in theory, you should be paid back £947,400.
In roulette, wagers placed on individual numbers do not win frequently, as the chances are only 1 in 38. This helps explain why theoretical and actual wins seldom coincide.
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This means that the less frequent a particular event is – as with the appearance of individual numbers – the more time players will need to spend betting on it before their actual and theoretical winnings converge.
Conversely, in games where no strategy can improve your chances of winning and the hit frequency is high, the actual and theoretical RTP will be nearly identical.
In casino games where strategies can be applied, gambling enthusiasts are prone to make mistakes from time to time, which is why the actual player return will usually be slightly lower than the theoretical figure.
However, players need to take two things into consideration. First, no matter how accurate the RTP of a given roulette variant is, it represents the average return over many spins and extended periods of time. If your betting session is short, your actual RTP can differ significantly from the statistics published by your online casino. For example, the house edge in European roulette stands at 2.70%, but this does not necessarily mean you will win back £97.30 on every £100 you bet. You can reach the theoretical player return only over the course of hundreds of spins.
Therefore, the more spins of the wheel that take place, the more accurate the information about the actual return of the roulette variant will become.
Another thing to consider is that RTP does not indicate how often you will win at roulette (or any other game). The RTP published by an online casino is the same for all types of bets you can place in roulette. However, a player who places only even-money bets such as Red/Black or Odd/Even will collect payouts more often than a player who bets on single numbers.
Roulette mavens should also know that RTP and house edge are closely connected and are often described as two sides of the same coin. Ideally, a roulette variant with an RTP of 100% would prevent the house from having the upper hand over players. It goes without saying that there are no casino games in which the scales are not tipped in favour of the house.
So, in simple terms, the house edge is designed to guarantee that the house will invariably be the winner.
Most reputable web-based casinos publish reports on the RTP of the games they offer, so if you want to examine the performance of a chosen roulette variant before you start betting on it, this is the way to go.
Return to Player in American Roulette
Having taken the above factors into consideration, we can now explain what the average Return to Player in American roulette is and how it is calculated. As we have already noted, the average return to player is closely related to the house edge for the game.
According to the rules of American roulette, the player loses whenever the ball lands in a zero pocket. Because there is an additional double-zero pocket on American wheels, the house edge for this variation is higher and stands at 5.26%. Consequently, on average the house keeps £5.26 for every £100 you wager on American roulette. The RTP can be expressed as follows: 100 – 5.26 = 94.74. So, the average player return in American roulette is 94.74%.
| American Roulette House Edge and Return to Player | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet Type | Bet Payout | Bet Probability | House Edge | Return to Player |
| Straight | 35/1 | 2.63% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Split | 17/1 | 5.26% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Street | 11/1 | 7.89% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Square or Corner | 8/1 | 10.53% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Five Line | 6/1 | 13.16% | 7.89% | 92.11% |
| Six Line | 5/1 | 15.79% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Column | 2/1 | 31.58% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Dozen | 2/1 | 31.58% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Red / Black | 1/1 | 46.37% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Odd / Even | 1/1 | 46.37% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| High / Low | 1/1 | 46.37% | 5.26% | 94.74% |
Return to Player in European Roulette
As we know, the wheel in European roulette contains only one zero pocket, which cuts the house edge almost in half to 2.70%. To calculate the RTP for this variation, we simply subtract the house edge from 100. This yields a theoretical RTP of 97.30%. In other words, for every £100 you wager on European roulette, you could potentially receive £97.30 back.
| European Roulette House Edge and Return to Player | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet Type | Bet Payout | Bet Probability | House Edge | Return to Player |
| Straight | 35/1 | 2.70% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Split | 17/1 | 5.41% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Street | 11/1 | 8.11% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Square or Corner | 8/1 | 10.81% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Six Line | 5/1 | 16.2% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Column | 2/1 | 32.4% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Dozen | 2/1 | 32.4% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Red / Black | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Odd / Even | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| High / Low | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| French Roulette House Edge and Return to Player * | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet Type | Bet Payout | Bet Probability | House Edge | Return to Player |
| Straight | 35/1 | 2.70% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Split | 17/1 | 5.41% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Street | 11/1 | 8.11% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Trio (0,1,2 / 0,2,3) | 11/1 | 8.11% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Four-Number (0,1,2,3) | 8/1 | 10.81% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Square or Corner | 8/1 | 10.81% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Six Line | 5/1 | 16.2% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Column | 2/1 | 32.4% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Dozen (P12, M12, D12) | 2/1 | 32.4% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Red / Black | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Impair (Odd) / Pair (Even) | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
| Manque (Low) / Passe (High) | 1/1 | 48.64% | 2.70% | 97.30% |
* French roulette is also played on a single-zero wheel but, thanks to the La Partage rule, players keep half of their wager whenever the ball lands in the zero pocket. This further reduces the built-in house advantage to 1.35%, which means that the theoretical RTP in French roulette is 98.65%. This is far above the return offered by the American variation of the game.